Bloody Rose
by Spiritus Scriptor
Summary: A more in-depth retelling of the story behind the curse. The Beast realizes, after he lets Belle go, that he might have retained more humanity than he thought...but it may be too late to act on it.


**Hello! **

**I primarily write fics for the Hobbit and Phantom of the Opera, but I occasionally branch out and write little oneshots for other things I enjoy. **

**This is primarily based on the Disney version, but I borrowed some elements from the George C. Scott version as well. Overall I like the story, but some things in the Disney version are kind of cheesy. Enjoyably cheesy, but they don't lend themselves well to the tragic scenarios that are my forte. **

**And why did they have to add that stupid, out-of-place song and redo the prologue in the re-released version? Gaah. **

**A/N regarding historical accuracy: Sometimes royals fell out of favor with their families and were sent away to live somewhere else. It's the only logical reason I could think of why the prince would be living basically alone (sans family, anyway) in the middle of nowhere. **

**And yes, in this story he is eleven years old when the curse is put on him. **

**That being said, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

A terrifying roar reached Belle's ears as she fled the castle, but she knew it was not of anger, it was of pain. Over the past few months she had gotten to know the prince whom she addressed only as Beast—she thought it terrible, but he had never told her his name and she'd been too frightened to ask, and the matter had soon been forgotten.

_I should have told him I'd return, _she thought, as the horse galloped away, taking her farther from the castle, the deafening echo now dying. _I will return. I hope he knows that. _

But she could not ignore the fact that her father needed her. Though the Beast had grown to be her closest friend, her father would always remain closer. He had seen her through the years of trials—when her mother died, when the family lost their money and had had to move to the country—all of it. Her anger at the injustice with which he was treated had never abated. He'd been a merchant by trade, and an inventor by hobby. But ever since they had lost their fortune, it was all he had left to keep him happy. And the people in this village treated him as a madman. It was infuriating.

And so it was that Belle set off with grim determination to set things right, though her Beast was never far from her mind.

* * *

The Beast—Adam, his name was Adam, why hadn't he told her?—trudged wearily back into the tattered realm of the west wing, that had once been his magnificent chambers. He seemed at once utterly exhausted, as if, with Belle's departure, his very life drained away. Perhaps it would—he had given her the enchanted mirror. Perhaps it held some link to his life, and if it was taken too far away he would die. Better if he did. She was not coming back. Why would she, after all that he had made her suffer?

As he covered his monstrous face with a massive paw, he felt a strange dampness beneath his eyes. Surely if he could weep, there must be a part of him that had remained human? He was not wicked, truly. But as the younger son, and therefore not an immediate heir, he'd not been favored by his parents and had been sent away to live in a remote ancestral home. They had not been needlessly cruel to him, they'd sent him off with a full staff to care for his needs. He'd been spoiled, that he knew, but there was one thing he never had…

Love.

The heavens poured with a torrent of rain the night there came a pounding on the door. No one ever knocked. No one even knew the castle was here, so deep in the woods it was. He'd demanded to know who it was at the door despite the butler telling him it was no need to worry, just an old beggar that he would send away.

"Let me see her," he demanded, a petulant child.

He came to the door to find a grotesque old hag standing there. The rain did nothing to improve her haggard appearance.

"Please, kind prince, a place to stay for the night?" she pleaded, a hopeful look on her miserable face. From her robe she procured a single, beautiful rose—pretty, but worthless—as payment.

But he, a sheltered, spoiled brat who knew little of the world or its troubles, refused. She was disgusting, and if he must be honest, she frightened him a little. He would not have someone so ugly under his roof, even if he did not have to see her. Her mere presence in the castle would disturb him.

"This is not an inn," he sniffed haughtily, trying to cover his fear. "Be gone."

When next she spoke, her voice had changed to a softer, lilting tone. But this time, it was her words that were ugly. "Wretched child," she condemned, though her changing form revealed her to be quite young and beautiful. "For your arrogance and pettiness you shall suffer. No one shall look upon you in love. You shall know misery, suffering and loneliness. This rose…" she thrust it into his hand, a thorn piercing into his skin. "Has an enchantment upon it. It will bloom for ten years. If in that time someone grows to love you—and they must say so—the curse will be lifted. But if not, you will remain as you are for all your life, and no one shall mourn your passing." With that, she swept her cloak around her and was gone without a trace.

Suddenly weary, he leaned against the heavy door until it closed, and then he fell to the floor, dropping his hands and the rose in his lap. It was then he noticed—his hands weren't hands—they were massive paws, complete with a set of menacing claws. He merely stared in horror.

When at last he found his voice, it had deepened to an animal's growl.

"Cogsworth?" he called. "Lumiere? Mrs. Potts? Anyone, help!" he cried, terrified of his new form. You see, when the thorn had pierced his hand, he had transformed into a hideous beast, unlike anything that had ever walked the earth before. His pleas for help sounded strange to his ears, the pleas of a terrified boy in an animal's body.

But no one came to his aid. They had all disappeared.

In a manic frenzy he bolted to his chambers and slammed the door. Seeing himself in the full length mirror, he screamed in horror—it came out as a roar—and smashed it to the ground.

"No," he cried. "No!"

That night he tore everything apart, down to the curtains. The last to be destroyed was a portrait of himself, which he promptly hid behind a newly-shredded velvet curtain.

Hiding his face in his hands for shame, he finally stopped and focused his attention on something else—the enchanted rose, and a new addition—a hand mirror that glowed green.

* * *

Belle arrived home to find that the entire village—or so it seemed—were plotting to throw her sick father in a lunatic asylum. Of course they would. With her gone, nothing stood in their way. The wagon was parked outside their house, and she'd answered the door to a frighteningly cadaverous old man who had come to "collect" her father.

"No." she said sternly. "I won't let you take him."

"Well, then, we'll just have to take her, too!" cried a voice from the gathering crowd. She recognized it as Gaston, the man who was dead-set on marrying her. She watched as she made his way forward. "Although…there is one way we can avoid all of this," he said. Before he had finished his sentence, she knew what he was going to say. He'd played enough of these tricks on her already. "Say you'll marry me and we can call this whole debacle off."

She glared at him. "Never," she declared.

"Well," he shrugged. "I guess that's that. Throw him in!" Just then, he caught sight of the mirror in her hand. She'd been showing it to her father, to prove to him that the Beast was quite changed. "What's that, he sneered, grabbing it from her.

"Give that back!" she shouted, reaching for it, but he held it over her head.

"Oh, I don't think so." He smiled sickeningly. Then he looked into it, and his expression changed. "What is _that_?" he glowered.

"_That_," she corrected. "Is the Beast. I don't know his name. He lives in a castle in the woods."

"Do you hear her?" he called to the crowd. "She's as crazy as her father! A beast, in that old ruin! Pah! Lock them both up, and we'll see about this 'beast'!"

Belle and her father were thrown head over heels into his cellar workshop and locked there, Gaston's errand seemingly forgotten.

Outside, Gaston threw the mirror to the ground, shattering the glass.

* * *

There was a terrible roar outside, but it was one that sounded strange to Adam's ears. It was the roar of an angry mob of people, here to kill him, no doubt. Belle would have gotten back and told someone by now. Surely a menace such as he was at such close distance posed a threat. But he no longer cared. Let them come. Let them kill him. It was as the enchantress had said. No one would mourn his passing.

He barely noticed as the mob gained entry, ransacked rooms. Even less when he himself was confronted by a man with a bow…until he shot him.

His animal side taking over, he was barely aware of his own actions as he roared…but he would not fight. He let the man kick him out of a window, out on to the ledge. It was raining. It was perfect, he thought. He would end this curse the way it had begun…on a dark and stormy night.

Suddenly a cry from below…could it be? She had returned! Suddenly, his strength came back and he easily overpowered his attacker, holding him over a ledge as the brute begged for his life like a coward. animal. And so he brought him back and set him down.

"Beast!" Belle cried from the balcony above, extending a hand. He had just barely touched her when he felt a knife plunge into his side. He roared, and the frightened man tumbled off his perch down to the sharp rocks below.

Belle somehow managed to pull him over the side and lay him down on the cold, damp stone. His breathing became labored as he bled. He was only barely aware of Belle clinging to him, sobbing. But surely it was too late, the curse could not be lifted now. And besides, she had not said that she loved him.

"Belle," he panted. "Thank you…for coming back. At least I got to see you…one last time."

"Don't say that. You'll live, I know it…" she smiled, through her tears.

"No…" he countered. When had breathing become so difficult? He couldn't bear any more…he just couldn't. And with that, he closed his eyes for the last time.

"No! No you can't die!" Belle shrieked over his body, gazing up at the darkening sky as if she were imploring the heavens to let him live. When she realized it was of no use, she sank back down and embraced him. And ever so softly, she whispered, "I love you."

Adam's heart jolted in his chest, and he felt himself rise into the air. A bright light…perhaps he had been pardoned after all. But just as suddenly, he felt himself sink back down to the ground. His body seemed…lighter, somehow. Passing a hand across his face, he found no fur, but skin. And hair—_human _hair. Staring incredulously down at his hands, he noticed Belle staring as well.

"It's me!" he cried joyously, hoping she would recognize some part of him. Behind him, a crowd of nervous servants who had been invisible all these years had gathered in the doorway.

As Belle embraced him, and he embraced her in turn, his eyes filled once more. But this time, it was for joy.

* * *

**So that's it! Please review!**


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